But...But... What about freedom of expression?
Oh...I see...I am free to express only if I agree with you.
Thank you, I get it now.
Yes, what about Alejandro Villanueva’s free speech rights? For that matter, what about mine? Do I have the right to make my political views known to my employer’s clients even if they greatly offend those clients and my employer loses business because of my big mouth? Will my employer (or pretty much any employer) stand by me or you in such a situation?
No freedom of expression for Pam Geller and Milo, because...NAZI!
There is nothing, zero, nada, about the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech involved here.
If I wanted to wear the logo of my company and stand outside their headquarters (or anywhere for that matter)and express my opinion on a subject they disagreed with (especially if it reflected poorly in their market) would I expect to remain employed with them?
Of course not. I would fully expect to be disciplined at best, and fired at worst.
Can I take my company logo off and express my opinions in a public way? Yes, but but there are limits even to that.
If I say something offensive and repugnant in a very public way and it makes it out to my employers and they become embroiled with it (such as Facebook or appearing on NBC nightly news) can I expect there to be no consequences from my employer? No, I can’t, especially if it alienates the customer base.
For the NFL, I very much fault the players, but just as much (and even more so) fault the NFL for not cracking down on this, and the franchise owners for not cracking down on it.
But to frame this as a freedom of speech issue is to not have grasp of the facts.
And it doesn’t just extend to causes that embrace the stupidity of the fable that black men are disproportionately murdered by white police officers which is easily refuted by statistics provided by our own government.
This also extends to issues we hold near and dear to us.
The rule of thumb is that a company is going to (and should) be able to dictate the terms on which an employee practices freedom of speech. Smart people understand that saying anything that a company agrees or disagrees with ON COMPANY TIME may well get you fired if it impacts the bottom line.
You don’t have the right to speak your mind on company time, and neither should these NFL players. And when you are on a field, company property, with the game getting ready to start, and wearing both the emblems of your franchised team AND the emblem of the league granting franchises, you do not have a First Amendment Right to both keep your job and speak your mind.
That this is happening is the fault of the League, the franchises, and the players.